Quality of Commercial Blends for Tarhana, Bey’s and Sarajevska Soup

The most popular traditional soups in Bosnia and Herzegovina are Tarhana, Bey’s and Sarajevska. These traditional soups are commonly prepared at home, and also have great popularity in the restaurants. Industrial production makes it possible to obtain traditional soups in instant powdered form, which allows them to be stored at room temperature.The aim of this study was to investigate different quality parameters of industrial produced traditional soups from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Samples were collected from local industrial producers and analyzed for different physical, chemical and sensory properties. The results of chemical analysis showed that all samples were in agreement to Codex Alimentarius and national Standard for quality of soups, sauces, food seasonings and related products. Bulk density ranged between 0.585 and 0.621 g/ml. Fat content varied between 4.30 and 12.46%. Amount of NaCl ranged between 8.99 and 10.52 g/L. The highest values of viscosity (111.67 mPas) and fat content were detected in Bey’s soup, while Tarhana had the lowest viscosity (32.33 mPas) and fat content. Tarhana had the lowest dispersibility and wettability. In terms of sensory properties, all samples were evaluated as acceptable with scores between 6.20 and 6.80 for overall acceptability. Industrial producers should use traditional ingredients and technologies to improve the quality of traditional soups.